By: Kayla Peting and Nathan Aldrich
The CRSA sprint cars invaded Penn Can Speedway Friday Night for First Responders Night presented by Binghamton Truck and Tire Center in conjunction with Glick Fire Equipment Company. With a quick fundraiser thrown together by Coach Fran and Trevor Years to benefit Happiness House, a not for profit that provides health, educational, therapeutic, recreational, residential, and family support service options to children and adults with autism. Our awesome fans and drivers donated $2,009. With 6 divisions on the card and a healthy crowd in the grandstands the night was shaping up to be a warm and wild one.
Stafursky Paving Modified action got underway with Bud Phillips and Alex Stanton bringing the field under the flagger’s stand. Phillips pulled ahead to the early lead as Mike Loney worked Stanton’s inside for second. Stanton maintained the spot as they worked lap two. The opening laps posed a challenge for Darwin Greene Sr. as Brett Tonkin, Alan Rudalavage and Kevin Hartnett moved past battling for spots in the top 5. Stanton moved to the inside of Phillips to take the lead on lap three and had opened up a 5-car length lead by the fifth lap. Afton Motorsports Park regular Dennis Clapperton battled Dan Vauter for the ninth spot but couldn’t make the pass as Vauter’s outside momentum kept him ahead. The move would cost Clapperton momentum as Nick Petrilak challenged him for tenth the next lap. Clapperton held on to the spot meanwhile Stanton had gained nearly a full straightaway lead over the field.
Rudalavage peeked inside Hartnett for fifth as the race neared the halfway point but would be unable to wrestle the spot away. With fifteen laps in the books Stanton worked some light lapped traffic but Phillips was unable to close the gap. Battles would heat up behind the leaders as Hartnett looked inside Malcolm for the fifth spot with Malcolm holding firm. Contact would be made between Vauter and Greene as Vauter took the eighth spot with five laps remaining. Vauter would take the spot with Greene slowing on lap twenty-seven bringing out the yellow. A Casey Plummer spin would stack them up one final time, giving Stanton one final test. The first time winner fired well, sailing under the checkers with Phillips, Loney, Malcolm and Hartnett completing the top five.
For Alex Stanton this moment has been a long time in the making. Over the past few seasons Alex has been a part time competitor, traveling from Michigan to race at the Can. Due to the handicapping system Stanton has always had to start deep. With the ability to move closer to his Friday night home however Stanton has been able to become a weekly competitor and rolled off from the front row. Alex stated that the sprints are a great equalizer as the hard, slick track evens out everyone’s ability to put the power down. With a borrowed motor from the Evans Family, Stanton ran a dominating race, with his biggest challenge coming from navigating the lapped machines. With midseason approaching Mr. Stanton sits fifth in the standings. His outlook however, is that the points will shake themselves out and that putting too much focus on it leads to different decision making that hurts you in the end. Alex would like to thank NEP Telephone, Rooney Equipment Services, Figliomeni Pharmacy Care, CB Excavating, Hartnett Lettering, his parents, Jeff, Maureen, and Bruce Evans.
The CRSA Sprints made their first appearance at Penn Can this weekend with 18 cars showing up for Autism Awareness night. Former feature winner Kyle Pierce would start on the pole with Dalton Herrick to his outside to take the green. Unfortunately, no laps would be completed as James Layton and Mike VanPelt would collide in turn 2 resulting in VanPelt being towed to the pits. Kyle Pierce and Herrick would once again lead the field to green with Herrick gaining the upper hand and taking over first. Jordan Hutton would look to Kyle Pierce’s outside to take over second place. Battles were happening towards the middle of the field as John Smith would use the low line to take seventh away from Tyler Emmons. Thomas Radivoy would try to use the same line to gain a position over Scott Landers but would be unable to hit the mark. On lap three a red flag would come out for John Cunningham taking a slow roll after making slight contact with the 13T of Trevor Years. After the driver was announced as being okay, the track crew got to work on removing Cunningham from the track. Jerry Shen would also head pit side during the red flag for a flat left rear but would return. The field would be led in a single file restart by Herrick. Off the restart Landers would look to the inside of Dana Wagner for seventh, but Landers would be unable to claim the spot as Smith and Aaron Shelton would spin in turn 4 bringing out the caution. Herrick would once again lead the field to green and the battles would begin right after the no passing zone. Landers would maneuver around Wagner using the low line to gain fourth and would use the same line to get around to Kyle Pierce to take over third. Lap 7 would see another caution as Wagner and Ron Greek would spin in turn 3 and 4 resulting in Wagner’s night ending early going off the track on the hook.
Herrick would lead the field in a single file restart, battles would ensue as Smith would look to the outside of Calvin Wheelock for ninth and would claim the spot. Towards the middle of the pack Radivoy would try to the inside of Emmons, but would be unable to claim the spot. Ray Preston and Greek would both pull to the infield with issues in their cars. Lap 17 would see a caution as Radivoy would come to a stop in turn 2. Herrick would once again lead the field in a single file restart as Kyle Pierce would try and reclaim third over Landers, but would be unable to do so. James Layton, Kyle Pierce and Emmons would thrill the crowd as the group went three wide for fourth place but Kyle Pierce would be able to fend off the other two. With Kyle Pierce taking fourth place Layton and Emmons would battle for fifth with Layton claiming the spot. The next caution would be on lap 23 as Smith would come to a complete stop in turn 4. As laps dwindled down Herrick would once again lead the field, but with only one lap remaining Layton would spin in turn 2. Herrick would lead the field until the checkered flag followed by Hutton, Landers, Pierce and Emmons rounding out the top 5.
Feature winner Dalton Herrick has a running joke that he’s the king of Thunder Mountain. His first Penn Can win with the series may change that title. A driver who’s known for running the top and banging the boards, Herrick found the bottom to his liking Friday night. In a tight battle all season with Jordan Hutton, Herrick’s move of the race came on a restart with the pair side by side. Hutton fired slightly early before hesitating, giving Herrick the launch he needed to pull out the win. Dalton would like to thank his amazing girlfriend and uncle for all of their support. He would also like to thank sponsors: Old Iron Automotive, Kiser Sand and Gravel and Kennedy’s.
602 Crate Sportsman struggled to get the momentum going in their feature as the yellow flag spent little time in its holster. Matt Martino and Eddie Kudrako took the green flag with John Michael Phillips and Brian Malcolm quickly taking Kudrako three wide down the backstretch. Malcolm ran out of real estate checking up the bottom line. With about half of the field collected the race encountered a red flag with 0 laps completed. Martino resumed the lead on the restart while Ray Leonard began his march to the front, taking fifth from Marty Goodwin on lap 5, and fourth from Ned Fitch on lap 6. Contact between Kudrako and Malcolm would send 3rd place Malcolm into the outside wall in turn one bringing out the yellow yet again. Martino elected for the inside with Kudrako to the outside. Leonard slipped to the inside of Kudrako through one and two, taking the spot away down the backstretch. Mayhem ensued as Kudrako was split 3 wide up the middle and the field stacked up.
After a tangle between Kudrako and Malcolm led to a second caution on lap 8, it was declared restarts would be single file for the remainder of the event. Mike Nagel Jr. dispatched Phillips to move into fourth on lap 9 with Mike Schane hot on his heels. Not to be left behind, Brad Weaver wrapped up a great battle with Kolyn Schane for seventh, next taking sixth from Phillips on lap 16. Weaver’s run would hit a speed bump on lap 20 however as he and Schane hooked bumpers on the frontstretch. With the laps winding down Malcolm would make his way past Kudrako to claim the eight spot as Leonard sailed to the win. Martino, Marty Goodwin, Schane and Nagel rounded out the top 5. Feature winner Ray Leonard said the track was very smooth but packed hard running at the end of the night. With time to observe the event before his, Ray knew the bottom was going to treat him the best and made the necessary setup changes to best accommodate the bottom. With a strong car he looked for the best opportunities to slip past his competitors, making his moves as he saw openings. Despite the dust Ray feels promoter Keith Beach has done an awesome job reviving the speedway. Ray would like to thank Cheryl, Tucker, Tori, Logan, Frog, Alan, Paige, Caveman, Katelyn, Arlo’s Tavern, Erik Hines Trucking, Sleepy Hollow Turf Equipment, Pitside Products, A&B Tent Rental, and Razderk Detailing.
A & E Tire and Auto Center 600cc modifieds continued on the train of new visitors to Victory Lane as Nate Oropallo parked it for his first 600cc modified win. After a few rough weeks Josh Towner sat on the pole with Oropallo to his outside. Towner grabbed the early lead as Jared Green came to a stop in turn two bringing out a lap 2 yellow. Towner elected for the inside on the restart and launched well. Reigning track Champion Brenton Miller quickly made his presence felt passing five cars in the opening two laps in his return appearance. Andy Bolles put together a strong run looking inside of Brett Gray for the seventh spot early on. Gray kept the spot as fierce battles raged on with third through eighth under a blanket. Tyler Smith worked the inside of Towner for the third spot while Gray challenged Nolan Smith for fifth. With the running order swapping around Oropallo had darted out to a half straight away lead over Miller and began to work lapped traffic. The final yellow regrouped the field with 8 to go as Nolan Smith and Towner came to a stop in turns 1 and 2. The single file restart spaced the leaders out as Gray worked Tyler Smith for fifth. Smith controlled the spot while just ahead Adam Mudge moved into third spot. The closing circuits would see a great battle between John Dinniny, Bolles and Gray to settle the sixth spot in a hurry. Oropallo would take the checkered flag with Miller, Mudge, Towner and Tyler Smith rounding out the top 5. Gray would win the battle for sixth as Dininny crossed in seventh and Bolles in eighth. Feature winner Nate Oropallo said the outside pole makes getting to the front feel a lot quicker. With the diamond line giving him the most bite on the tacky surface he said it felt like everything slowed down once he got in the zone. With lapped traffic being the hardest part he didn’t mind seeing the caution to clear his path. Nate would like to thank Kim, Marcell, and sponsors: Artizon Upholstery, Emily, Mallery & Yannone Trucking, YTS Wealth Management, Rooney’s Equipment Service, Seventy-One Designs and Deez Nutz Setups.
The makeup factory stock feature took to the surface as soon as hot laps concluded. Sheldon Whitman and Charlie Towner led the field down the front stretch with new addition Buck Mills Jr. making a daring opening move to take the leaders three wide before the flag stand. Whitman took a wild ride into turn three climbing the berm before shooting down the track nose first toward the inside wall. Some heads up driving by Kevin Welch and CJ Swanson avoided Whitman’s machine. Charlie Towner elected for the outside on the restart putting Charlie Gilbert on his inside. Gilbert got the jump from the restart as Towner was left to content with Mills for second. With Mills taking the spot, Towner pulled his machine into the infield. With both Gilbert and Mills favoring the top the pair ran nose to tail on lap four. Mills switched it up the following lap as the pair worked door to door in a great multi lap battle. Mills would wrestle the lead away on lap 7 as Billy Shoemaker made his way into third behind the lead duo.
CJ Swanson ended up pointed toward the infield on lap 17 giving Gilbert one more shot at Mills. The veteran driver instead had to fend off Shoemaker for second in the closing lap until Shoemaker looped his machine in turn 2. Mills dashed under the flag for the win on the green checker lap. Gilbert tightened the points battle finishing second with Rhodes third, Welch fourth and Mike Chilson fifth. Feature winner Buck Mills Jr. said it was going to be critical to get to the front quickly and after that it would just be about staying smooth. The bottom worked better as the laps ticked away and Gilbert continued to run the top. With lapped traffic not posing much of a problem Mills didn’t feel pressure. Buck would like to thank his large family including his Mom, Dad, Cadence, Chad Conley, Lee Ann Nye, Baylee, Stryker Fab, Conley Engines, Kevin & Cindy, Kennedy Financial, Randy Brokaw and Family, Race Queen, and Bilstein Shocks.
The second factory stock feature again put Charlie Towner on the pole, this time with Shoemaker to his outside. Towner pulled ahead on the start while Welch battled Rhodes for the third spot. A Brad Chilson turn 4 spin brought out the yellow with Mills and Shoemaker spinning in turn 2 under the yellow. With a pile of restarts coming over the next three laps things got back underway on lap 6 with Rhodes leading, Mills second, Gilbert third and Alecia Towner fourth. Contact between Alecia Towner and Mike Chilson on lap 6 would heavily damage Towner’s front end. It would hold up until lap 9 when it blew apart on the backstretch sending her pitside and bringing out the yellow. Leader Rhodes would head pitside with a flat right rear, moving Mills to the lead. It would be a great battle between Mills and Towner with the pair side by side from lap 13 onto the final two laps when Charlie Towner was able to pull away for the win. Mills settled for second with Gilbert third, Shoemaker fourth and Welch rounding out the top 5.
Feature winner Charlie Towner has had an up and down season but feels their momentum is finally headed in the right direction with the car running well. With an early flat in the race the plan was to try to nurse the car through, but a well timed caution and a strong effort from his crew got it changed and back on the surface. Towner kept hoping for a green flag run as his car performed better with heat in the tires and he needed laps to find the zone. He would like to thank Tanner Mechanical, Glover Boxer Farms, Dave’s Buy Rite Auto Sales, Wildside Graphix, T & S Tax Inc, Riverside Lanes, Red Barrel Carburetors, Rock Creek Creations, Scentsy by Lisa White, TG Racing Bodies, GMB Motorsports, and his father, mother, Megan, Zeke, Terra, and Scott.
Gary’s U-Pull it 4 cylinders were running after their last weeks feature was cancelled due to weather. Rich Wagner was the pole sitter with Josh Wilder on his outside. The green would drop, but the field would be called for a no start. Once again Wagner and Wilder would lead the field with Wagner getting the early jump. Unfortunately, Wilder would slow along the backstretch and would bring out a caution. With Wilder heading to the pits, Wagner would select the outside lane with Salmini to his inside. Wagner would get the early lead as Salmini, and Tim VanDemark would quickly step up and take Wagner three wide for the lead. Wagner would quickly claim the spot. However, point leader VanDemark would look to the inside of Wagner to quickly claim first. Jeff Sterling would make his way through the field and would use the low line to challenge a slowing Scott Beach for fifth and would claim the spot. With the low line being the favorite line of the feature, Salmini would use it to try making his way around Wagner but would be unable to claim the spot. Sterling would use the high line to make his way around Shawn Mills to take over fourth place and begin to hunt down Salmini. Sterling would try to make the high line work to take over third from Salmini but would be unable to use the line. On lap 6, Beach would begin to slow, but would head to the infield before bringing out the caution. Sterling and Salmini would both battle each other hard for third, but Salmini would gain the upper hand and would quickly look to the inside of Wagner to claim second to begin hunting down the leader of VanDemark. On lap 8, VanDemark would catch the tail of the field and pass Dakota Fuller who has been having a rough season. The first caution of the 15-lap feature would come on lap 9 as Wagner would spin in turn three and Fuller would pull to the infield. VanDemark would lead the field to green in a single file restart as the battle for second quickly heated up. Salmini and Sterling would go door to door for the remaining laps with Sterling coming out with second place. VanDemark would take home the checkered followed by Sterling, Salmini, Mills, and Josh Storms rounding out the top 5.
VanDemark once again made his way to victory lane after a rough few weeks since losing on the race night with the bounty on him. Tim said that his grandpa said they could go back to what they knew would work and it turned out to be the right call. As far as track conditions VanDemark said it was excellent and the low line was his best friend as it was hooked up and it seemed like no one was using it. He also said that once he got where he wanted to be, he could use whichever line he wanted. As always, he wants to thank his grandpa for all the work he puts into the car week after week and also his family for all the support.
This coming Friday is a busy night for the track as the SCDRA series would make a stop at the track. The SCDRA 4 cylinders will be running for a $2,500 payday along with 602 Sportsman, A & E Tire and Auto Center Xcel 600cc Modifieds and Factory Stocks being on the card. The Stafursky Paving Modifieds will be off this week due to the SCDRA series being in town. Be sure to stay up to date on the current happenings at the track by following our Facebook page: The Penn Can Speedway.
STAFURSKY PAVING MODIFIEDS
WINNER - 117 - ALEX STANTON
2.) 23P-Bud Phillips 3.) 17D-Mike Loney 4.) 119-Brian Malcolm 5.) 5-Kevin Hartnett 6.) 145-Alan Rudalavage 7.) 27K-Brett Tonkin 8.) 9-Dan Vauter 9.) D9-Dennis Clapperton 10.) 17-George Kostelansky 11.) 72-Nick Petrilak 12.) 57-Dan Burman 13.) 1-Darwin Greene Sr. 14.) 73-Casey Plummer 15.) 484-Travis Brockner
SUPER GEN PRODUCTS CRSA SPRINT CARS
WINNER - 29 - DALTON HERRICK
2. 66-Jordan Hutton[4]; 3. 33-Scott Landers[8]; 4. 9K-Kyle Pierce[1]; 5. 25H-Tyler Emmons[5]; 6. 410-Jerry Sehn Jr[3]; 7. 22M-Aaron Shelton[10]; 8. 7W-Calvin Wheelock[18]; 9. 14-James Layton[15]; 10. 4-Cliff Pierce[14]; 11. 23-John Smith[9]; 12. 1Q-Thomas Radivoy[11]; 13. 28-Ron Greek[16]; 14. 4T-Ray Preston[17]; 15. 25W-Dana Wagner[12]; 16. J27-John Cunningham[6]; 17. 13T-Trevor Years[7]; 18. 112-Mike VanPelt[13]
602 CRATE SPORTSMAN
WINNER - 3R - RAY LEONARD
2.) 226-Matt Martino 3.) 55-Marty Goodwin 4.) 197-Mike Schane 5.) M7-Mike Nagel Jr 6.) 10K-Kolyn Schane 7.) 23JR-John Michael Phillips 8.) 14X-Brian Malcolm 9.) 1A-Brad Weaver 10.) 32- Eddie Kudrako 11.) 16-Ned Fitch 12.) 3D-Brett Wooster 13.) 12-Parker Overbaugh 14.) 70J-Joe Novak 15.) 14K-AJ Konopka 16.) 7-Ralph Mele 17.) 44-Jim O’Hara 18.) 7R-Tommy Groover 19.) 84-Mike Wilcha 20.) 225-Derrick Shaffer 21.) 54T-Travis Rooney 22.) 26M-Meckenzie Marsh
A & E TIRE AND AUTO CENTER 600cc XCEL MODIFIEDS
WINNER - 30 - NATE OROPALLO
2.) 29-Brenton Miller 3.) 54T-Adam Mudge 4.) 9X-Josh Towner 5.) 80-Tyler Smith 6.) 28-Brett Gray 7.) 12J-John Dinniny 8.) 354-Andy Bolles 9.) 999-Jim Frantz 10.) 110-Roger Lewis 11.) 217-Larry Furman 12.) 99-Phil Burns 13.) 1JR-Darwin Greene Jr 14.) 176-Mollie Mroz 15.) 67-Tori Straway 16.) 77X-Nolan Smith 17.) 17-Jeff Baldwin 18.) 607-Jared Green DNS 167-Devan Sieben
FACTORY STOCKS
WINNER - 5T - CHARLIE TOWNER
2.) 187-Buck Mills Jr. 3.) 28-Charlie Gilbert 4.) 10-Kevin Welch 5.) 69ER-Billy Shoemaker 6.) 57ND-Jason Rhodes 7.) 23D-Brad Chilson 8.) 28M-Mike Chilson 9.) 77X-Alecia Towner 10.) 3-CJ Swanson 11.) 5-Noah Sidel DNS 4MK-Sheldon Whitman
FACTORY STOCK Makeup from 7/2/22
WINNER - 187 - BUCK MILLS JR
2.) 28-Charlie Gilbert 3.) 57ND-Jason Rhodes 4.) 10-Kevin Welch 5.) 28M-Mike Chilson 6.) 3-CJ Swanson 7.) 69ER- Billy Shoemaker 8.) 4MK-Sheldon Whitman 9.) 77X-Alecia Towner 10.) 5T-Charlie Towner 11.) 23D-Brad Chilson
Gary’s U-Pull It SCDRA 4 Cylinders
WINNER- 107 - TIM VANDEMARK
2.) 56-Jeff Sterling 3.) 77- Brian Salmini 4.) 71M-Shawn Mills 5.) 66-Josh Storms 6.) 8W-Rich Wagner 7.) 70-Chris Wesser 8.) G55-Dakota Fuller 9.) 21-Scott Beach 10.) 5-Josh Wilder DNS M1- Milke Girjatowicz